Besides making the transition from the storied world of consulting to the ever evolving realm of e-commerce, the move has called for more changes from Narayanan.ET Bureau | September 29, 2015, 15:45 IST

Narayanan has been with McKinsey for 15 years across four offices (Chicago, Shanghai, Taipei and Chennai) and is expected to join Myntra's Bengaluru headquarters from October 1, 2015. After spending a decade and a half with consulting giant Mckinsey, Ananth Narayanan joins online fashion store Myntra on October 1. Besides making the transition from the storied world of consulting to the ever evolving realm of e-commerce, the move has called for more changes from Narayanan. For one, he will shift base from Chennai to Bangalore, where Myntra is headquartered. In an exclusive interaction with ET’s Lijee Philip, he explains his role at Myntra and what his plans are for the company. Edited excerpts:

Your background is in consulting, especially auto consulting. What prompted you to make the switch?

If I think about the next 10 years, ecommerce and technology will make the biggest impact globally and in India. I wanted to be a part of it. Myntra is a unique combination of fashion, technology, (almost like combining the left and right side of the brain), its ability to shape and drive innovation. Finally, I am most excited about Myntra’s consumer centricity — its terrific to make 6 million of our consumers look good.

Is the transition going to be tough from McKinsey? What learnings from McKinsey can apply at Myntra?

I don’t think so. After graduating, I joined McKinsey and have been with the firm for 15 years, including stints in China (3 years), US (6 years) and India (the last 6 years). I have done a variety of things in McKinsey — including leading product development across sectors which involves understanding what consumers want to building products that they want — which is going to be what I am going to do in Myntra. Companies such as Myntra are in a fast growth phase. A key focus area for me is to strengthen systems and processes here that allows scalability, which is also something that I will bring from McKinsey to Myntra.

What are your plans and priorities for the first 100 days as CEO?

Understanding the ecommerce ecosystem and devising a long-term strategy for Myntra by leveraging key growth drivers will be a priority. Also, getting to know the team across all levels and helping them to define priorities will be important.

Where is the next level of growth for Myntra going to come from?

The next level of growth is going to be driven by discerning customers who value curated selection of brands (national and international) on our platform. Tier II is also a key driver of growth for us. This is where the next round of economic growth is happening.

What’s the current Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and would turning profitable be at the cost of growth or vice versa?

I want the business to scale and be profitable. Currently, we are operating at $500 million annualised GMV and we plan to cross $1 billion by 2016. We have a clear path to profitability in 18 months and be the best fashion experience to the consumer. I want to double the number of users from 6 million to 12 million in a year. Because of the several features introduced, the amount of time spent on the app has gone up, and I want fashion and technology to work seamlessly.